The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new Supreme Leader represents one of the most consequential political shifts in the Islamic Republic in more than three decades. For the first time since the 1979 Revolution, supreme authority has passed directly from father to son. The Assembly of Experts confirmed Mojtaba around a week after the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, in a US-Israeli strike that wiped out a substantial portion of Iran’s senior leadership. With that decision, days of speculation over a possible vacuum at the summit of power were brought to a close, at a moment when Iran had already entered a major war.

Who is Iran's new Supreme Leader? How was he shaped, and what ideas define him? What is his relationship with Iran’s institutions? What scenarios lie ahead for the country? And what form will the day after the war take?

The Rise of Poland’s Far Right

[caption id="attachment_55255068" align="aligncenter" width="4724"] Nationalists light flares during the Independence Day March on November 11, 2015 in Warsaw, Poland. (Getty)[/caption] by Volha…

Majalla

Putin's Plan for Syria

[caption id="attachment_55255065" align="aligncenter" width="4388"] Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech as he inspects a parade during his visit to the Russian air base in Hmeimim in…

Majalla

What Is Xi Jinping Afraid Of?

[caption id="attachment_55255024" align="aligncenter" width="2806"] Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People as the Communist Party opens its twice-a…

Majalla

The Bloody Split Within ISIS

by Vera Mironova, Ekaterina Sergatskova, Karam Alhamad In 2014, as life in ISIS began to stabilize, many of its foreign fighters adopted an almost civilian routine. They spent their time reading,…

Majalla